Melbourne Cup fever hits the nation this weekend but rather than having a head full of horses, I find I can’t keep my mind off houses. There’s been a sudden rush of serious properties introduced to the market in the past month, and the most high-profile of them involve prominent families and homes steeped in history.

It’s not surprising, I suppose, that so many top-level vendors have decided to move now. The federal election held things up through September and now everyone’s trying to ride a market that hasn’t looked this good for years. Some may also sense it’s unlikely to get any better, so they’re hoping to take advantage of the calm before the next fall.

I stepped out to look at one such property the other day in rarefied circumstances, joining a select group of prospective buyers at an invitation-only twilight cocktail-party viewing of Redcourt, a unique piece of Melbourne history. Low-profile but big-spending Melbourne investor Adam Garrisson had rescued and restored the 1888-built Queen Anne Revival home from a derelict state. Now he’s going to sell it.

No one knows what Garrisson paid to buy the landmark Armadale residence from the Victorian government in 2009 – it’s rumoured to have been half the then-asking price of $8 million. He’s said to have spent double the buy price again renovating and decorating the grand dame into a gussied-up version of her former self.

The astounding result, which merges design elements and themes from different eras, is for sale via expressions of interest though prestige agent Kay & Burton.

Director Ross Savas, who always seems to be at the epicentre of any truly special property negotiation in Melbourne, put the price estimate at about $10 million. Buyers of serious intent, therefore, will need to throw another $2 million into the mix before Garrisson is even likely to consider parting with his labour of love.

To me, that seemed a high price to pay for a house on hellishly busy Orrong Road. The traffic noise and air pollution certainly bothered me as I looked down at it from the first-floor verandah fronting the otherwise serene Akira Isogawa-designed music room. Nevertheless, this is Melbourne, a city oft voted the most livable in the world. So trivial air-quality inconveniences are unlikely to put off the monied from places such as Hong Kong or mainland China who have shown early interest in making Redcourt their home.

Fairfax mansion

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They’re looking at other addresses further afield, too. I’m dying to know, for example, who ends up buying the Fairfax family’s waterfront mansion that I used to live beside in Sydney’s Point Piper.

It came on to the market last month for the first time in 102 years and its rare blend of expansive land and splendid harbour views has inspired some pundits to suggest that when it sells as expected in a few months’ time, it will fetch almost double the existing Sydney sale price of $53 million set earlier this year for a house in the same neighbourhood.

Back in Melbourne, Savas is quietly confident he’ll achieve impressive prices for two Toorak spreads he also has on his books, including Norman Smorgon’s 5500-square-metre pile. Commentators predict it will break the Victorian capital’s price record of $24 million once expressions of interest close on November 21.

All this suggests buyers at this end of the market are unmoved by warnings of a potential global fallout from central banks’ insistence on printing money. And they’re unlikely to care about the possibility of a housing bubble here.

While some commentators suggest that price expectations among some vendors may exceed what the market is prepared to pay, once a deal is done in this market, it looks like both parties go away happy. Besides, the sums being bandied about at this top level may rate as bargains for many of the prospective buyers. The Chinese and people of other Asian nations have already been cashing in, reportedly picking up commercial and residential property as a hedge against instability in their own lands.

But immigration lawyer and property specialist Lily Ong, who runs a small Melbourne practice, says she hasn’t seen evidence of a significant uptick in Asian property buyers.

“I probably saw more movement in the high-net area about four or five years ago. So people who wanted to move their money out have probably already done so," Ong says.

These days foreigners are buying here to educate their children in a stable economy.

“They’re certainly not coming here for the return on investment," she says. “It’s more for quality of life, the clean air, the fact it’s secure and that we adhere to the rule of law."

More visa applications

Foreign Investment Review Board restrictions mean non-residents are not able to buy in Australia. But temporary-resident visa holders can buy anything they like. “With the change in government, I would expect the number of visa applications to increase," Ong says.

Savas says international inquiries for his spread of Melbourne properties have been mixed between returning expats and the Asian market, including Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China, with emerging interest from Malaysia and Indonesia.

He says the rising level of stock is being driven by pent-up demand and renewed confidence.

“We haven’t really seen that for five years. And good property will always do well," he says.

Admittedly, everything looks better after a glass of champagne or three, but I thought Redcourt must fall into the good-property category.

I was particularly taken by its “flower room" – a light-filled room designed solely for use by the florist du jour to work his or her magic during twice-weekly visits to refresh the home’s vases. Now, that’s class.